Posts Tagged: Small Farms

Cultivating California

Only in California could arid land be converted into the nation’s salad bowl. In the late 1800s, University of California researchers discovered how to remove salts from the soils of the Central Valley, turning it into one of the most productive...

uc anr minibrochure cover s2

You should taste it fresh

Question: What exotic fruit has been named as a flavor in Starburst candy, Ice Breakers gum, SoBe beverages, Vitamin Water drinks, Bacardi rum and even Axe body spray? Answer: Dragon fruit. (Hylocereus spp.) So while many of us may have tasted products...

Pitahayas, as packed at a small farm in San Diego. (Photo by Shermain Hardesty)

box of pitahaya fruit

At UC South Coast Research and Extension Center, the dragon fruit plants are currently in an orchard system, though new trellis trials will soon be under way. (Photo by Shermain Hardesty)

Cactus with pink pitahaya hanging from it has grown up a pole and out over a wire canopy, creating a tree-like form.

Pitahaya blooms at UC South Coast Research and Extension Center. (Photo by Shermain Hardesty)

Colors of ripe pitahaya flesh can vary between red, fuschia, pink and white.

Irvine Field Station white flesh pitahaya

Put down that zucchini! Pick up the ... bittermelon?

Welcome to August. Are you tired of summer squash yet?If your dinners have been overflowing with zucchini recently (like mine have), now might be a great time to try new varieties of otherwise familiar vegetables.One of the farm advisors I work with...

For foodies, being choosier is getting easier and fun

This season, for Southern California pick-your-own foodies, blueberries are among the latest and fastest growing offerings, thanks to the tenacity of small-scale farmers and the know-how provided by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources...

One more way to 'know your farmer'

A ranch dog "friended" me on Facebook the other day. Yep, a dog on Facebook. To be specific, this is a working dog on a ranch that produces meat and sells it directly to consumers like me. Apparently when Suki isn't herding cows at Scott River Ranch,...

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